South West Four 2011

A review for www.residentadvisor.net
photo credit: Vickie Parker

London festival South West Four had pulled out all the stops for their August bank holiday knees-up; showcasing a line-up that covered everything from the underground to the commercial side of the electronic music spectrum. With stiff competition across the capital for the discerning dance lover from various events including no less than two secretsundaze parties, SW4 still managed to pull an enthusiastic crowd with a line-up consisting of headlining giants Underworld, chart act Pendulum, old favourites Layo and Bushwacka!, and Laurent Garnier, and techno treats from Sven Vath and Richie Hawtin to Ben Sims and many more.

Upon entering Clapham Common on the blustery Saturday afternoon, the site had been turned into a veritable quagmire as a result of lashing rain in the previous week. Some festival kids didn’t seem to get the memo however; adorned in frocks and flip flops and looking on at the sludge in dismay. It didn’t seem to deter many though and before long plastic-bag-shoe-chic was being rocked by many, with forlorn looking solitary items of footwear disregarded in the mud.

Trudging across the site clutching some warm pear cider it was straight to the Cocoon tent for Guy Gerber who was playing jump-up tech-house at a ridiculously low volume. Halfway into the crowd; the ability to have a chat at normal levels with the person stood next to you was sadly effortless as the beats thumped away in the background. It seemed that unless you were willing to barge your way to the front to stand with your head in the speaker, the chances of hearing anything but muffled kick drums and tinny treble were slim, and the idea of any bass in the music was a distant memory. Many boisterous boozed-up-tops-off blokes had already made the front their stomping ground meaning that this area wasn’t really an area to dance, rather a place to be shoved around like a rag-doll - something that wasn’t particularly appealing.

Teifschwarz, Tobi Neumann, Josh Wink and Sven Vath provided a muted soundtrack in the Cocoon arena throughout the afternoon, whilst in the ‘Shake It’ tent Layo and Bushwacka and Garnier were giving the crowd what they wanted through their classic anthems ‘Love Story’ and ‘Man With the Red Face’ respectively, providing reactions of mass sing-a-longs and hands in the air. If there was an opportunity to gush about some rare and wonderful records the artists played otherwise it was sadly missed, simply as the sound was so poor. After a good few hours of mooching from tent to tent in a vain attempt to get near a speaker, it was then time for headliners Underworld to take to the outdoor main stage. With a back catalogue dating back to the birth of half of the clientele and notoriety for taking electronica from the underground to the mainstream, it was a treat to have Underworld on stage for a full hour. Slightly louder than the covered arenas, the goose bump inducing chords and drums from their opening track ‘Rez/Cowgirl’ resonated across the crowd as dusk fell across the site; an opener from the collective that gave the audience a kick up the backside to ensure they were dancing from the beginning. Throughout the performance they treated the crowd to tracks from their various albums with their familiar tones and Karl Hyde’s iconic vocals, particular highlights being the epic ‘2 Months Off’ and ‘King of Snake’.

Considering the festival was a sold out event the atmosphere during the performance seemed rather lacklustre with only pockets of the audience really getting into the music despite Hyde’s frantic pleas to ‘Come on SW4 make some noise!’ When the familiar synths from ‘Born Slippy’ boomed out for the encore however it was clear that this was what the audience had arrived for, and as the stage lights beamed over 20,000 people waving their arms in the air, it was certainly the most dynamic moment of the day as SW4 Saturday drew to a close, leaving crowds of inebriated festival goers stumbling out of the common and onto further parties, as the night was still so young.

Sunday’s event rolled around, and it seemed that following the many complaints that had flooded in on the SW4 Facebook pages, someone had quite possibly listened; with the sound levels much clearer and louder than the previous day. The line-up for Sunday was just as strong and after walking into a packed ‘We Love….’ arena where Simian Mobile Disco were playing an acapella of their track ‘Hustler’ over a banging techno beat, it was time to seek out Minus records maestro Richie Hawtin. Hawtin’s diversity and longevity in the industry meant that exactly what he was going to deliver on a set-by-set basis was unpredictable, and on this Sunday afternoon anything from minimal clicks to frantic pitched-up rhythms could be expected. The arena, today sponsored by Last FM and hosted by Together was not as crowded which provided a welcome relief from the crush of the previous day, and it meant that there was plenty of room to get a decent stomp on. Hawtin provided his audience with a cleverly crafted set that consisted of fresh sounding beats that had bite but that kept enough of a groove to keep the techno-sceptics dancing for the duration, a far cry from the click-y minimal he was originally renowned for; his loyal audience locked in with him throughout and applauded him as he played his last track.

Following Hawtin it was time to go and check out Ben Sims in the Drumcode arena (In association with Mixcloud). Sims was playing techno that wasn’t as ridiculously hard as his usual offerings, with beats that were fast but from the funkier end of the spectrum. As darkness approached outside the tent however he moved into more standard Sims terrain with a relentless chunk of techno that maintained the visible high energy atmosphere, an atmosphere more electric than at any other moment of the festival. People of all nationalities and ages jumped around as he finished with his own remix of Sylvester’s ‘You Make Me Feel’; a techno and disco collision which was a perfect way to end the set and close the arena for another year. The record caused a mass sing along from the crowd of dancing bodies– a definite festival highlight which judging by the hollers, cheers and applause was a common feeling from all. As Pendulum played out the final chords of their chart-y d&b rock on the main stage, SW4 2011 drew to a close. Despite the poorly stocked bar and by and large shocking sound levels, the festival was a fun day out with a great line-up. Please just turn it up next time!